Sobhraj, known by the nickname "The Serpent", allegedly drugged, robbed and killed backpackers.
Credit: Sipa/Newscom
(CNN) --
Nepal's highest court on Wednesday ordered the release of Charles Sobhraj, the infamous French serial killer who inspired the award-winning television series "The Serpent."
The court ordered his release for reasons of age and health, according to his spokesman, Bimal Paudel.
The Supreme Court of Nepal has ordered the release of French serial killer Charles Sobhraj for reasons of age and health.
(Credit: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images)
Sobhraj, 78, was serving a life sentence in a jail in the Kathmandu suburb of Bhaktapur for killing two tourists in 1975, but many of his alleged slayings remain unsolved.
A two-judge panel of the Supreme Court ordered the government to release him immediately and deport him to "his country" within 15 days, the spokesman added.
Sobhraj suffers from heart disease and needs open-heart surgery, according to the court.
Born in Vietnamese Saigon under French administration, Sobhraj was first imprisoned in Paris in 1963 for robbery, but was later accused of committing crimes in a list of countries: France, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India , Thailand and Malaysia.
He has also escaped from prison in several countries, and his propensity to elude authorities earned him the nickname "The Serpent".
According to his biographers, Sobhraj went on to admit to at least 12 killings between 1972 and 1976, and hinted at others to interviewers before retracting his confessions before appearing in court.
The actual number of victims is unknown.
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In 2014, a Nepalese court sentenced Sobhraj to 20 years in prison for the 1975 murder of Canadian tourist Laurent Carrière.
The 2021 BBC and Netflix drama titled "The Serpent" is based on the story of the alleged Sobhraj murders.
He tells how for years he evaded the law in Asia by allegedly drugging, robbing and murdering backpackers along the so-called "hippie trail" while former Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg worked with authorities to capture him.
-- CNN's Julia Hollingsworth, Adam Renton and Esha Mitra contributed reporting.
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